Chef builds kitchen of chocolate and sugar

He has built a 20-foot-tall skyscraper of chocolate in New York, a 22-foot-tall chocolate Christmas tree in Hong Kong and a 1,250-pound chocolate cake on "The Martha Stewart Show." Check out some of his other "sweet" work. (Chicago Tribune)

Alexa Aguilar, Special to the Tribune

He has built a 20-foot-tall skyscraper of chocolate in New York, a 22-foot-tall chocolate Christmas tree in Hong Kong and a 1,250-pound chocolate cake on "The Martha Stewart Show."

And now chef Alain Roby's latest foray into extreme sweetness is a life-size chocolate kitchen in downtown Geneva.

Roby, 55, is a master pastry chef and Food Network regular who has concocted sweet creations for royalty and dignitaries around the world. Now, the French-born Roby is following his passion of constructing amazing works of chocolate and sugar in Geneva, where he and his family have lived for 10 years.

"I like breaking the records and crossing the lines," he said recently, as he worked on more chocolate molds at the display space at 507 S. Third St. "As you build something that has never been done, it pushes you to explore, to push the envelope."

Roby, formerly the senior pastry chef for Hyatt Hotels, holds two Guinness World Records designations for tallest chocolate building (20 feet, 8 inches) and tallest cooked sugar building (12 feet, 10 inches). He is hoping Guinness officials will make the trip to visit his kitchen, a replica of his home kitchen. Cabinets, a stove, a sink, a tiled backsplash, teapots and dishes — all are made from more than 2,000 pounds of donated chocolate and sugar.

A few women stopped by the space on a recent Friday morning, oohing and ahhing at the kitchen and checking out the different confections he has for sale. Roby also has a life-size chocolate Blackhawks player, astronaut and dinosaur on display, along with a cookbook he wrote.

"I've always told the people that have worked for me that we are in show business," Roby said. "Yes, the food has to be great, but you also have to make it an experience."

Roby said that the celebrity chef phenomenon has led to an increased awareness among the passers-by who stop in, looking for the drama that they see in the kitchens on their televisions. Average Americans now eat up cooking shows on channels such as the Food Network and aren't intimidated by terms such as blown sugar, Roby said. In recent years, Roby has made several appearances as judge on Food Network challenges and has been featured on specials such as "Extreme Pastry" and "Sugar Rush."

Roby set out to build a life-size kitchen after he decided he wanted to raise awareness for a charity dear to him and his wife, Esther Roby: the Saving Tiny Hearts Society.

Roby became involved with the organization after his son Jonathan collapsed at age 16 on a football field in Geneva in 2007. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, which was treated. He's now a college student.

But as the Robys dealt with their son's condition, they were surprised to discover that congenital heart defects are the No. 1 birth defect and that one of every 125 babies is born with a heart defect. Roby decided to raise awareness and money for the grass-roots volunteer organization that funds research by doing what he does best: constructing extreme creations of chocolate. A portion of all the proceeds of sales from the cookbook and the store goes to Saving Tiny Hearts.

Jonathan Roby said he used to take for granted the incredible creations his father would construct for birthdays and Halloween, such as gigantic birthday cakes and huge sugar ghosts. Once, his dad asked to borrow a toy gorilla, he said, and when he went to his dad's workplace weeks later, he found a life-size gorilla made of chocolate.

"It's always been that way. He gets an idea, and then he is taking on some new challenge. But I no longer take it for granted that he has the ability to make masterpieces of chocolate and sugar," Jonathan Roby said.

The process of building the kitchen started last year with chocolate donated by Callebaut. Roby melted the chocolate into molds he designed, then connected the pieces by using more chocolate. The dishes were made of sugar, and the tiles made to look like tiles by glazing and sculpting. It took months to do, and Roby still has to tweak it now and then. One recent day, he was bustling to repair a door that had cracked. Roby said the chocolate won't melt unless temperatures reach into the 90s.

He said that while the artistry of the kitchen is a challenge, the engineering it takes to build can be just as complicated. When he is executing his visions, he is in a zone, he said. Jonathan Roby described him as looking like a scientist figuring out equations in his head.

"I don't hear anything, I don't see anybody," Alain Roby said. "It's like I'm a movie director making sure that all the parts come together. Then, you just hope it is well-received."

The response to the kitchen has been enthusiastic, and the local developer who donated the open retail space in a development downtown is allowing Roby to stay through the spring. Jean Gaines, president of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, called the chocolate kitchen a unique destination for Geneva residents and visitors that added something special downtown during the Christmas season.

Roby said that after he is finished with his all-chocolate kitchen project, he is sure he'll have another extreme chocolate challenge to tackle.

"It's in my blood," he said. "I don't have blood. I have chocolate running through my veins."